President Donald Trump said Tuesday he plans to announce his nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States next week, hours before he was scheduled to meet with Senate leaders to discuss his judicial pick.
As he signed four executive orders in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that he would select who would fill the bench later this week from a shortlist. “We have outstanding candidates,” he said.
Trump is slated to meet with top-ranking Senate leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Tuesday afternoon “as part of his ongoing consultations with members of the Senate,” McConnell said on the Senate floor earlier that day.
Scalia’s seat on the high court has been vacant since his unexpected death in February of last year. Former President Barack Obama had selected Judge Merrick Garland to fill the seat, but Senate Republicans refused to hold hearings on his nomination because of the upcoming election.